William T. Sherman shoulder marks

William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) wore this shoulder mark when he was a major general in the Union army during the Civil War. Sherman was promoted to this rank after the Battle of Shiloh in April of 1862. It measures 1.57 by 4.33 inches (4 by 11 cm). William Tecumseh Sherman was born in Lancaster, Ohio. Orphaned at age nine, he was raised by Thomas Ewing, a U. S. Senator who also served as secretary of the treasury and secretary of the interior. He graduated sixth in his class from West Point and served in positions in the south where he gained great knowledge of the southern people and the geography of the region. Sherman served in the Mexican War, but left the army in 1853. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Sherman accepted a position as a colonel in the regular army. Sherman became well known for his tactics of property damage and psychological warfare against the southern people, best illustrated by his march through Georgia. His goal was to convince the southern people to stop the war, and prevent more battle field deaths. Sherman is credited with the saying "War is hell.